Melissa Durfee wrote:
>The big breeding farms rely on impulse purchases at pet stores for their
>income; I would guess that these purchases represent the majority of
>surrenders at shelters.
 
and Julie responded:
 
>I can play the devil's advocate, because this *is* the way I got my
>ferrets.
 
Although my roommate at the time made a conscious decision to buy her first
ferret, who is now my oldest ferret, neither of us knew much about ferrets
at all.  I don't think impulse purchases are bad *if* the person buying the
animal is aware of the responsibilities of pet ownership and is willing to
find out how to give a ferret the care and attention it needs.  It's not
the pet stores that are necessarily evil, but rather the buyer who doesn't
think twice or take responsibility for their actions.
 
Now, would I like to change the big breeder -> pet store system to one that
is more concerned with animal welfare?  Oh, absolutely, and it *needs* to
be changed.  In the meanwhile, until a way is found to do that, I will
instead devote as much time as I can to volunteering with my local ferret
club to educate people about domestic ferrets, and volunteering to help the
local shelter with their adoption days and their web site.
 
Speaking of the local shelter, The Ferret Guardian Rescue Haven has 14
ferrets available for adoption right now, as Shari Gunter posted the other
day.  If you are in the Carolinas, Virginia, or Eastern Tennessee, and are
interested in getting another (or a first) ferret or a pair, please go to
their web site at:
 
http://www.ferretguardian.org
 
Diane has some absolutely wonderful ferrets in her charge right now.  I
know I was absolutely taken by two of the pairs: Blizzard and Frostbite and
Foxy and Roxy.  Baby, the champagne, is an incredibly big, beautiful male.
I just know I cannot give proper care and homes to more ferrets, and our
landlord won't let us have any more.
 
I've stayed out of the shelter discussion, but Diane is one shelter
operator who works hard to find good, permanent homes and does not want to
keep these fuzzies at the shelter any longer than necessary.  So, if you
want to give some ferret(s) a good home...
 
Sorry I've prattled on so long...
 
Take care,
Caity Martin and the Seven Ferts
 
________________________________________________
Caitlyn M. Martin                                     [log in to unmask]
http://www.caitys-world.com
 
"Good grief, man!  It's as simple as Einstein's special
theory of relativity!"
         - Dr. Who, as portrayed by Jon Pertwee
________________________________________________
[Posted in FML issue 2527]